The Patriots ended the season with a record of three wins and eleven losses and finished last in the AFC East Division.

The Patriots continued their period of futility as they slumped to another horrendous record, and missed the playoffs for the ninth straight season.

After being embarrassed 31–7 in their home opener against Cincinnati, the Patriots would win their next two games against Atlanta and Washington.

The worst of these losses was a 52–0 thrashing by the eventual Super Bowl champions, the Miami Dolphins, who would go on to achieve the only undefeated season in NFL history.

Although they won three games, the 1972 Patriots had the second-worst point differential (minus-254) of any team in a 14-game NFL season, ahead of only the expansion 1976 Buccaneers.